Ecolabel to be retained, but streamlined

30 June, Brussels - The European Commission has confirmed that it will retain the EU Ecolabel scheme, following its mid-term review. However, in order to secure greater impact, the Commission proposes to drop certain products from its coverage and simplify administrative burdens for companies wishing to use it.

The Ecolabel has been found to be effective in reducing the environmental impact of products, although uptake has been relatively low. The Commission believes the low uptake has been a result of high administrative burden, and seeks to streamline the process and set operational targets for the scheme.

The product categories with the lowest uptake – toilets, household taps and printers – are likely to be dropped from coverage, whilst other categories will be merged and monitoring will be improved.